Minster Survives Last Minute Versailles Onslaught 26-21

By Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — After a slow start, the Minster Wildcats methodically built a 26-7 lead late in the fourth quarter over the Versailles Tigers. That’s when the game suddenly became more exciting. Versailles scored two touchdowns and recovered two onside kicks in the final two minutes, forcing Minster to make a late defensive stand for the 26-21 victory.

The game started poorly for the Wildcats, as on their third play from scrimmage Jared Huelsman was intercepted by Kurtis Rutschilling. The Tigers needed only three plays to travel 37 yards for a Garrett Thompson four-yard touchdown run.

Minster’s second possession resulted in a lost fumble which Versailles recovered inside Minster territory. The Wildcat defense refused to budge this time, yielding only one yard before forcing a Versailles punt and keeping the deficit to just 7-0.

“Our start was awful. We weren’t locked in, we had some dumb mistakes and lacked focus,” described Minster coach Geron Stokes. “I think our seniors were a little rattled at the start because it was Senior Night and they were really invested emotionally. We weren’t in a good place to start the game and Versailles made some plays. But our kids battled back. They fought. It was good.”

Neither team scored the next three times they took possession of the ball. Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats started at their own 20-yard line. Huelsman connected on a deep play-action pass with Alex Lehmkuhl just past midfield. Lehmkuhl outraced the defense to complete the 80-yard reception and tie the game at 7-7.

Just before half, Lehmkuhl recovered a Tiger fumble at the Minster 34-yard line. The Wildcats needed only six plays to drive for the go-ahead touchdown, a ten-yard corner pass from Huelsman to Austin Brown which gave Minster a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Wildcats maintained the momentum in the second half, as a Huelsman nine-yard scoring run capped off their opening 72-yard drive. Versailles threatened to score themselves on the ensuing possession, but Huelsman intercepted a pass at the Minster 16-yard line. The Wildcats scored nine plays later on a 25-yard Isaac Schmiesing run, upping the advantage to 26-7.

Minster stopped the following Versailles drive at the Wildcat 37-yard line early in the fourth quarter. It was the seventh time Minster allowed Versailles to cross midfield without scoring.

“I liked it. Our kids were digging their cleats in the ground and fighting,” added Stokes. “It’s kind of what we want to do.”

With the game seemingly in hand, the Wildcats started bringing in the second team. The Tigers responded with a 14 play, 81-yard scoring drive which ended with a one-yard Thompson touchdown run with 1:57 remaining. Versailles successfully executed the onside kick and needed only four plays before Noah Waymire connected with Andrew DeMange for a 27-yard score, making the score 26-21.

With the Tiger fans more excited than they had been all night, another onside kick was attempted with the same result. 59 seconds remained, and Versailles was only 50 yards away from victory. This time, however, the Minster defense refused to budge. Two incomplete passes and a sack by Cody Frericks set up a fourth-down play for the Tigers. A deep pass was knocked down by Schmiesing at the ten-yard line to preserve the Wildcat win.

Next week Friday, the 5-4 Wildcats will go on the road to face 7-2 Anna, with both teams hoping for a win to possibly obtain a home game for the first round of the playoffs. 3-6 Versailles will return home to take on 3-6 New Bremen.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 0 14 12 0 26

Versailles 7 0 0 14 21

First Quarter:

VER – Garrett Thompson 4 yd run (Jeffrey Ware kick), 9:48

Second Quarter:

MIN – Alex Lehmkuhl 80 yd pass from Jared Huelsman (Isaac Schmiesing kick), 7:52

MIN – Austin Brown 10 yd pass from Jared Huelsman (Isaac Schmiesing kick), 1:35

Third Quarter:

MIN – Jared Huelsman 9 yd run (kick failed), 8:23

MIN – Isaac Schmiesing 25 yd run (kick failed), 2:12

Fourth Quarter:

VER – Garrett Thompson 1 yd run (Jeffrey Ware kick), 1:57

VER – Andrew DeMange 27 yd pass from Noah Waymire (Jeffrey Ware kick), 1:00

Team statistics MIN VER

First downs 15 22

Rushes - yards 28-146 44-173

Passing yards 246 212

Comp - att - int 11-22-1 14-30-2

Total yards 392 385

Punts - average 4-37.0 6-39.0

Fumbles - lost 2-1 1-1

Penalties - yards 7-59 2-29

Time of possession 17:51 30:09

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Schmiesing 11-79, Huelsman 13-73, Ketner 1-5, Schmitmeyer 2-4; Versailles, Thompson 19-96, Grow 12-36, Grisez 8-23, Rutschilling 3-11, Waymire 2-7

Passing: Minster, Huelsman 11-22-1-246; Versailles, Waymire 14-30-2-212

Receiving: Minster, Schmiesing 4-37, Frericks 3-67, Brown 3-62, Lehmkuhl 1-80; Versailles, Hiestand 5-71, Grow 4-44, DeMange 3-42, Rutschilling 1-30, Grisez 1-25